Ron Leach

The New York Times ran an interesting piece recently about the growing popularity among picture-takers of “selfie sticks” and the problems they are causing at public venues. For the uninitiated, a “selfie stick” is essentially a lightweight, extendable monopod with a mount for either a smartphone or compact camera that photographers use to pursue their narcissistic habits.

Levi Bettweiser is a photographer. He’s also the founder of The Rescued Film Project—an amazing online archive of images captured on film between the 1930s and the late 1990s. Every image in the collection was rescued from rolls of undeveloped film that Bettweiser obtained from a variety of locations across the globe.

Every January many of us make good-faith resolutions to improve our lot in life for the coming year; losing weight, being kinder to others and spending more time with family and friends are among the most common. And despite the best intentions, some of these resolutions remain unfulfilled—only to be reaffirmed the following year.

As 2014 draws to a close and I write the 100th installment of this column, I decided to reflect not on the future, but rather how the photo industry has evolved over the past 10 years or so. The pace of technical innovation in imaging gear has progressed so rapidly over the past decade, that is easy to forget how much has changed.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all with regard to digital imaging technology and accessories, a new trend pops up and reminds you that the influence of digital convergence upon our lives will continue unabated for the foreseeable future. Some new innovations are nothing than quirky toys for the gadget aficionado, while others offer promise for the future but aren’t quite ready for prime time.

We just returned from the 33rd Photokina World of Imaging in Germany, and if there were any questions about the rate of excitement and technical innovation within our industry they were quickly answered. Some 185,000 visitors from over 160 countries once again flocked to Cologne for photography's bellwether event. On the exhibitor side 1,074 companies from 51 countries were represented, illustrating the degree to which imaging technologies play a roll in virtually every aspect of our lives.

As subscribers to this monthly eNewsletter, most of you are very familiar with what all the authoritative content in Shutterbug Magazine, and we want to take this opportunity to let everyone know about other ways you can participate in the Shutterbug community via our website and our growing array of social media initiatives.

While we often devote this column to a discussion of evolving technologies for innovative photographic gear, this month we’d like to tell you about some changes we have in the works for Shutterbug and solicit your input for updating the magazine, our website, and our social media initiatives.

Those of you who are fans of Shutterbug Magazine’s Facebook page have read the recent news that our longtime Editor George Schaub is moving on to pursue other interests. George and I have been friends and colleagues for many years, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors. All of us—the magazine, our readers, the industry, and photographers everywhere—owe George a huge debt of gratitude on both a personal and professional level for everything he has done to further the craft of photography.

Most of you are familiar with the concept of “wearable cameras”—particularly as pertains to the so-called digital “POV” models used by action sports enthusiasts to document their exploits with still images and/or video while skiing, ballooning, cycling, surfing and other such activities. These cameras can be attached to helmets, body harnesses or even the sports equipment itself. There have also been a few not-so-successful attempts to market small wearable devices designed to capture low-res images as people go about their daily lives.